"We felt like we had a pretty good Division II program, and they were our benchmark," Savannah State coach Bill Davis said. "To go in and do well against them meant we had arrived."

Davis' Tigers meet Georgia Southern again tonight. And while much has changed about the two programs over the years, two important parallels remain.

First, from Georgia Southern's perspective, the Eagles are again highly ranked -- No. 1 as opposed to 1989's No. 2 -- and looking to start a run at a national championship. And for Savannah State, the Tigers once again consider their program as an up-and-coming one looking to earn respect.

One fall afternoon's performance secured years of credibility for SSU back in 1989. The Tiger offense featured players such as quarterback Richard Basil, running back Lucious Coles, wide receiver Earl Bryant and some tall, lanky guy named Shannon Sharpe. SSU entered the game averaging 43 points a game.

"People didn't expect us to have a good showing. Actually, they expected us to get mauled," said Basil, who is the Tigers' quarterbacks coach today. "A lot of people questioned us because they questioned the level of talent we played against in our conference. We convinced people we were a solid team that afternoon."

More than that, the Tigers put a scare into Georgia Southern, a team coming off a trip to the 1988 Division I-AA title game and on its way to an undefeated national championship season. Led by quarterback Raymond Gross and anchored by a stingy defense, the Eagles were 4-0 heading into the Savannah State game and had outscored those four opponents 133-17.

Georgia Southern couldn't shut down Basil and Sharpe, though, at least not in the first half. The two teams traded touchdowns in the first quarter, with the Eagles taking a 14-7 lead late in the period.

That set up what is known as "The Pass" in Savannah State lore, a 91-yard touchdown play from Basil to Sharpe that stunned the crowd of 20,507, a Paulson Stadium record at the time.Facing first down-and-20 from his own 9-yard line, Basil called a sprint-out play designed to hit Sharpe on a comeback route. But Sharpe, who is an All-Pro tight end for the NFL's Baltimore Ravens now but played split end at Savannah State, saw the Eagles were going to blitz, leaving him in single coverage.

So instead of running his pattern, he sprinted down the Georgia Southern sideline, caught a 60-yard heave from Basil in stride and raced into the end zone to tie the game 14-14.

"I can remember Shannon running by everybody, and you could actually hear the sound of his feet," said legendary Georgia Southern coach Erk Russell. "He gave our safety a cold on the way by."

Russell would give Sharpe a cigar later -- the only time GSU's coach ever presented one of his trademark stogies to an opposing players -- but only after his defense shut out SSU in the second half.

Sharpe finished with nine catches for 202 yards, although seven of those catches and 179 of those yards came before halftime. Basil completed 16 of 32 passes for 261 yards.

Savannah State won its final five games of the 1989 season by an average of 27 points to finish 8-1. NCAA probation, the result of infractions unrelated to the football program, kept them out of the Division II playoffs, however.

"Georgia Southern was our Super Bowl," Davis said. "It was the biggest game on our schedule. With no championship to play for, Georgia Southern was it."

And Georgia Southern, which defeated Stephen F. Austin in the national championship game to finish 15-0, came away impressed.

"Erk Russell said after the game they had just beaten the best Division II team in the nation," Basil said. "I have no doubt we would have won the national championship that year."

The 1989 meeting was only the second in the series -- one more than expected. Georgia Southern officials pledged to never play Savannah State again after a 1983 Thanksgiving Day game at Savannah's Memorial Stadium.

That game was called midway through the fourth quarter following a brawl between players. Police were forced to intervene and break up the fight, and game officials promptly called it with 5 minutes, 46 seconds remaining. The Eagles won the aptly dubbed "Turkey Bowl," 15-0, before a pitiful crowd of 450 fans.

The 1989 game renewed the rivalry, and Georgia Southern and Savannah State played each of the next four seasons. The Eagles won all four games, three of them by convincing margins. The two teams haven't played since 1993.

Until today.

Sports reporter Adam Van Brimmer can be reached at 652-0347 or e-mailed at vbrimmer@savannahnow.com.

Find out EVERYTHING about football -- scores, stats, schedules and more. Visit our Football 2001 site.